About a month ago, the Internet re-discovered the Japanese covers of A Song of Ice and Fire. The set splits each book in George R.R. Martin’s magnum opus into multiple parts, presumably to make them more portable and manga-like for bustling Japanese readers. The binding features stunning artwork of all of our favorite Game of Thrones characters.
The Japanese cover designs feature work by various Japanese artists. As often happens when international artists become involved, not all of the attribution and sourcing has been fully accurate, so we’ve tried to round it all up and tell you who made what.
On her website, artist Noriko Meguro has quietly featured full gallery portraits of a selection of her share of the Game of Thrones covers—and they are a sight to behold.
Noriko Meguro
Here’s a look at these portraits in their cover forms:
Meguro contributed one other gorgeous cover to the Japanese split versions of the series—Daenerys:
And here are the full front-to-back covers for each of them:
Additionally, two other artists contributed artwork for the stunning series of Japanese covers, from publisher Hayakawa. Here is the series done by celebrated mangaka (manga artist) Yasushi Suzuki, beginning with A Storm of Swords:
Finally, here are artist Ken Sugawara’s editions of the books:
Though these editions of the books are only available in Japanese, you can purchase them through any online retailer like YesAsia or Amazon Japan. Just don’t get your hopes up for the English versions—sadly, none of them are illustrated yet.
However, the recent companion book, A World of Ice and Fire, is illustrated—it features artwork from a whopping 27 different illustrators.
It’s not as good as a full, glorious manga edition of the series—but it will do.
For now.
Illustration by Noriko Meguro
